Reverse flow vortical whirl separators with chambered pneumatic blowdown means for continuous removal of separated particles



1958 J. I. YELLOTT ET AL ,650

REVERSE FLOW VORTICAL WHIRL SEPARATORS WITH CHAMBERED PNEUMATIC BLOWDOWNMEANS FOR'CQNTINUOUS REMOVAL OF SEPARATED PARTICLES Original Filed Feb.7, 1955 INVENTORS JO 6 r I emf av 7 7Qr 1e Bram/4:

ATTO EY- United States Patent REVERSE FLOW VORTICAL WHIRL SEPARATORSWITH CHAMBERED' PNEUMATIC BLOWDOWN MEANS FOR CONTINUOUS REMOVAL OFSEPARATED PARTICLES .Tohn I. Yellott, Phoenix, Ariz., and Peter R.Broadley, Elizabeth, N. J., assignors to Bituminous Coal Research, Inc,Washington, D (3., a corporation of Delaware Original applicationFebruary 7, 1955, Serial No. 486,556, now Patent No. 2,812,828, datedNovember 12, 1957. and this application March 13, 1957, Serial No.

2 Claims. c1. 183-80) This invention relates to pressure-sustaining,reverse flow vortical whirl separators of the vortex reflector type,

incorporating means for the continuous pneumatic blow-' This applicationis a division of our application Serial No. 486,556, filed February 7,1955, for Reverse Flow Vortical Whirl Separators With ChamberedPneumatic Blowdown Means for Continuous Removal of Separate Particles,now Patent No. 2,812,828, issued November 12, 1957.

The present, divisional application is directed to a special form ofseparated particulate matter discharge means, essentially comprised ofan annular chamber or bustle disposed eXteriorly of a separator barrel,with which it is in free fluid communication through an annular slotwhose gap width is the average particle size of reduced particulatematerial to be removed through a blowdown line in a blowdown stream ofthe carrier gas. The blowdown line may be radially or tangentiallyembouched in the outer wall of the annular chamber.

The gap or annularslot, as will appear more fully hereinafter, may beformed by and between the bottom edge of a separator barrel and aspacedly apposed flat disk or plate, which may be separately mounted, ormay form an integral bottom for both the separator and the annularchamber. The improvements of the present invention being particularlyrelated to the separated solids discharge and removal end of a Dunla-bTube type separator, the details of the separation of the particulatematter in the barrel of a separator will not be gone into, save toindicate one method of primary separation of the particles from theentraining spinning stream of gasiform fluid.

It is, therefore, among the features of novelty and advantage of thepresent invention to provide novel Dunlab Tube type,pressure-sustaining, reverse flow vortical whirl separators, withcontinuous pneumatic blowdown means for removal of separated particulatematter, the blowdown means incorporating chambers in free fluidcommunication with the separators through annular gap entrants.

Another feature of novelty and advantage of this invention is to provideopen-ended separator barrels encased in closed housings and openingintothe housings through peripheral slots, the housings being providedwith blowdown lines. I

. A further feature of novelty and advantage of this invention is toprovide gap-forming means for spaced apposition to the open bottoms ofreverse flow vorticalincorporating blowdown lines, and the gap-forming.

means defining peripheral slots opening into the housings from theseparators.

Other features of novelty and advantage of this invention include'theprovision of annular blowdown chambers for pressure-sustaining, reverseflow vortical whirl separators having blowdown lines embouched in theblowdown chambers.

With these and other objectsv in View, which may be incident to ourimprovements, the invention consists in the parts and combinations to behereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that theseveral necessary elements, comprising our invention, may be varied inconstruction, proportions and arrangement; without departing fromthe'spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In order to make our invention more clearly understood, we have shown inthe accompanying drawings means for carrying the same-into practicaleffect, without limiting the improvements in their useful applicationsto the particular constructions, which for the purpose of explanation,have been made the subject of illustration.

In the drawings, like numerals refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views, ofwhich Figure 1 is a vertical section through 'anopen-bottomed, reverse flow vortical whirl separator with an adjnstablefiat 'bottom or vortex reflector spacedly apposed to the separator anddefining; an annular peripheral gap therewith providing, free-fallingdischarge to a collecting hopper having a pneumatic blowdown lineembouched therein; 7

Fig. 2' is a vertical section through a horizontally mounted reverseflow vortical whirl separator tube adapted for heavy loading andincorporating the vortex reflector principle with a gap-forming capmember defining an annular peripheral blowdown chamber with the tube,and the chamber mounting a radially embouched pneumatic blowdown tube;

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and vFig. 4 is a vertical section, partly in elevation of apressure-sustaining, reverse flow vortical whirl separator having aspinner inlet, an axial cleaned air return pipe, primary and secondaryseparator chambers separated by an annular disk having peripheralskimmer blades, the secondary chamber discharging through an annularslot into an annular blowdown chamber embodying a radial blowdown line.

1 The incorporation of the pneumatic discharge blowdown principle in thenovel reverse flow vortical whirl separators herein permits the handlingof particle-containing, high pressure and high temperature (15000 F gasstreams, and the removal of the contained particles from the separatorsby utilizing from 1 to 10% of the gas stream as a blowdown stream,thereby eliminating mechanical ash removing equipment from the system.The vortical whirl separators herein arecapable of functioning asself-sustaining pressure vessels, thereby permitting their use inlocomotive power plants, where appreciable and important reductions insize and weight of ash removal equipment can be effected, all as moreparticularly set out and claimed in our companion application Serial N0.330,077 filed Ian. 7, 1953, for Coal- Burning Gas Turbine Power PlantsIncorporating Novel Self-Supporting and Pressure-Sustaining VorticalWhirl.

Separators Together With Improved Ash Quenching and Blowdown Means.

In the elaboration of our studies on' the functioning of the novelvortical whirl separators hereinabove described, and with particularreference to the removal of separated particulate matter by asportationin blowdown streams of the gasiform fluid under treatment, particularattention was directed to the orientation and functioning of theblowdown lines. In the course of this phase of our researches, a noveldiscovery was made, namely, that if a continuous annular slot isprovided at the discharge end of the discharge chamber or secondaryseparator, and this end of the separator is encased in an air-tightreceiving chamber, the ash-separation efliciency of the novel vorticalwhirl separators herein is appreciably increased. This wholly unexpectedincrease in separation efficiency of the separators herein was found tobe independent of the blowdown lines, and to be a function solely of theslot width, as applied to a given set of operating conditions. Becauseof the apparent modus operandi of the novel discovery referred to, wehave designated it as the vortex reflector principle, for purposes ofready identification. In the practical application of this principle tothe novel vortical whirl separators herein, the separators illustrated,in part, in Figs. 1

and 2 were constructed and successfully operated on a full scale basis.Turning now to these figures of the drawings, the vortical whirlseparators herein, incorporating our novel vortex reflector principlewill be described:

As shown in Fig. l, a vortical whirl separator 30 is provided with theusual primary separator or barrel section 31, diaphragm skimmer plate40, and an open ended discharge or secondary separator section 33. Thesection 33' serves to support an air-tight, bottomed casing 60, disposedtherearound. As shown, the casing may be provided with a blowndown line34, or the usual air-tight hopper discharge, not shown. A vortexreflector plate 61 is spacedly supported in juxtaposition to the openend of discharge section 33' to define an annular gap or slot 62, ofvariable gap width therewith. The plate 61 extends across the open endof section 33' and is secured to and on a spider 63 by a post 64. Thespider is fixedly held in position by spacer rods 65, which are lockedin place by nuts threaded thereon, and designated generally by thenumeral 66. The slot width can be varied, and, desirably, is of such amagnitude that coarse particles or agglomerates are retained in thedischarge or secondary separator chamber until they are ground down byattrition against the wall of the separator as a result of thecontinuous vortical whirl to which they are subjected.

The reverse flow vortical whirl separators described hereinabove, whileintended primarily for use in pressurized combustion systems of gasturbine power plants burning powdered coal, are susceptible of use inall installations where high throughputs of particle-laden gasiformfluids are to be cleaned. A special feature of the invention herein isthe application of the vortex reflector principle to novel vorticalwhirl separators used as discharge nozzles for pneumatic transportsystems for pulverulent materials. Materials which are handled mostexpeditiously by pneumatic transport include, inter alia, powdered coal,iron ore, gypsum, and the like. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, theprinciples of the invention herein are seen embodied in a novel deliveryand separating device for the separation and discharge of pulverulentmaterials from pneumatic carrier fluids. In this form of the invention,the usual separator 30 is provided with an open ended discharge chamberor secondary separator sections 33, which end is capped by a specialdischarge device, designated generally by the numeral 70. The device 70has a plate section 71, serving as a vortex reflector, a collar section72, and a discharge spout 73. The collar 72 has an inturned flange '74in air-tight engagement with the open end of secondary separator section33. The device 70 is hermetically secured on and over the section 33' ofthe separator tube, and defines an annular blowdown chamber 76therewith, which discharges through member 73 as a pneumatic blowdownline. The annular gap 77 formed by and between the open end of section33 and plate section 71 of member 70, may be varied, as notedhereinabove. The inlet end of the primary separator section is closed,as shown, and particle-laden pneumatic fluid is introduced tangentiallyinto the separator through an angular connection 75. The connection maybe connected to any suitable conduit, not shown, for the pneumatictransport of pulverulent material. In use, and depending on the size ofthe installation, the device may be suspended from a crane or boom, ormanipulated by hand, and the discharge nozzle 73 traversed to insureeven deposit and trimming of deposited solids. The cleaned gas returnpipe 32 may be vented to the atmosphere, where the solids being handleddo not constitute a health or fire hazard. In case flammable orotherwise obnoxious discrete solids are being handled, the cleaned gasreturn 32 may be connected, in a closed circuit, with the impeller pumpor fan whose discharge is in fluid communication with inlet pipe 75, andthe conveying gas, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or the like, iscontinuously recirculated, the loss of carrier fluid through theblowdown or discharge nozzle 73 being of the order of 1 to 10% of thetotal volume of the throughput. Where a closed conveying circuit isused, the receiving space or chamber may be sealed off or otherwiseblanketed from the atmosphere.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 4, a separator tube 30, as inFig. 1, is provided with a capped bottom closure defining an annularblowdown chamber therewith, which chamber is provided with the usualblowdown line. The cap closure 70, and blowdown outlet 73, are wellsuited for this purpose. When the gap spacing 77 has been determined fora particular use, the annular flange 74 is desirably hermeticallysecured to separator section 33 in any suitable manner, such as welding.

It is to be noted that the novel separators herein also function asclassifiers, as the gap width of the annular slot entrants to thedischarge or pneumatic blowdown chambers will determine the size ofparticles passing therethrough. Oversize particles and agglomerates willbe retained in the separator until ground down by attrition against thelip of the separator and the spacedly apposed vortex reflector plate.

When the separators are used in batteries, the solids discharge system,as set out in our parent application, supra, will be provided with acritical flow nozzle, not shown, whereby a uniform pressure ismaintained in the separators, with no blowback therebetween due todifferential discharge pressures in the blowdown lines.

It will be readily apparent that the improved reverse flow vorticalwhirl separators herein are susceptible of use in a wide variety ofindustrial and technical installations, a preferred use being thecontinuous separation and pneumatic removal of combustion residuesresulting from the pressurized combustion of pulverized coal in thegeneration of high temperature motive fluid for gas turbines. A notablecharacteristic of systems incorporating the novel separators herein isthe fact that removal of separated solids in and by a pneumatic disposalsystem is accomplished by the use of fractional amounts of the carrierfluid for asporting such solids in blowndown streams, therebyeliminating the usual mechanical removal equipment.

While we have shown and described the preferred embodiment of ourinvention, we wish it to be understood that. we do not confine ourselvesto the precise details of construction herein set forth by way ofillustration, as it is apparent that many changes and variations may bemade therein, by those skilled in the art, without departing from thespirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the appended claims. I

What is claimed is:

l. A vortical whirl separator of the character described, comprising aprimary separator chamber having inlet means for particle-laden gasiformfluid and an axial outlet for cleaned gasiform fluid at the same end ofthe chamber, a secondary chamber secured to the bottom of said primarychamber, an axially apertured skimmer plate between the chambers, saidplate incorporating an axial opening and peripheral openings, wherebyaxial and peripheral fluid communication is established between saidchambers, a casing for receiving discharged material disposed about thesecondary chamber, a vortex reflector apposed to the bottom of thesecondary chamber and defining an eflerent slot therewith, said vortexreflector being adjustably mounted within the receiver, whereby thewidth of the slot may be varied when the reflector is moved verticallywith respect to the bottom of the secondary separator.

2. A vortical whirl separator according to claim 1, characterized by thefact that the vortical reflector comprises a plate fixedly secured to asupport member adjustably mounted within the receiver, and said receiveris provided with a blowdown line, whereby the continuous removal ofseparated solids is effected in a blowdown stream of the gas undertreatment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,069,483 Skajaa Feb. 2, 1937 2,672,215 Schmid Mar. 16, 1954 FOREIGNPATENTS 176,352 Switzerland Apr. 15, 1935 555,908 Great Britain Sept.13, 1943 700,791 Great Britain Dec. 9, 1953 956,552 France Aug. 15, 1949

